A Study of the Spatial Distribution of U.S Military Bases in the Middle East through Utilizing Hot Spot Analysis of ARC in GIS

The Middle East is identified as a region which is crucial in terms of geopolitical and geostrategic changes. Consequently, this area turned to be a center of attention in recent years. It is also estimated that the population of U.S military forces will increase more than 35000 in the Middle East in the year of 2014. Additionally, the precise distributions of American military forces are not identified in the Middle East due to the military and political sensitivity. From among U.S military bases throughout the world 50 military bases in the west of Asia and also around Iran is affiliated to the U.S military forces. Therefore, identification of U.S military bases is of crucial significance in the Middle East due to the U.S growing threats. Moreover, utilization of spatial statistical analysis could lead to the identification of U.S military forces. This study was an investigation of the spatial distribution of U.S military bases in the Middle East through utilizing hot spot analysis of ARC in GIS. The findings revealed that in terms of deployment of U.S military forces, most of U.S military threats to Iran from the east area are posed from the countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan and from the south area these threats are posed from the countries including Arab emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. Moreover, the direct threats of U.S military forces is not remarkable in the other geographical area and most of the U.S military threats is related to the proxy threat from America. Therefore, the development and implementation of defensive strategies in military sphere is highly suggested by the researcher.